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1883 
Copy 



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OF THE 



COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 



AND 



RRF'OFi'r 



OF THE 



Surgeon General 






Seventeenth Annual Encampment, 



3cnucv% Orol., ihiUj 25, ISS:-'.. 



OMAHA: 

Hepublicax Book and Job Printing House. 

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SETZEntEEnlh Annual EnEampmEni, 



□ ENVER, CDLDRADD 



July 25m 1883. 



OMAHA, NEB. : 

REPUBLICAN BOOK AND JOB PRINTING HOUSE. 



Five thousand copies of Commander-in-Chief s address and Surgeon 
'Jeneral's report, each ordered printed in advance of the Proceedings of 
Seventeenth Annual Encampment. Ordered by Cammander-in-Chief R. 
B. Beath, that a copy shall be sent to each Post of the Grand Array. 

Ordered that these addresses shall be read to the members of each 

*08t. 



AE)I!)KRS© 



Another march is ended and we have pitched our tents in the shadow 
of the snow-capped mountains in this beautiful city on the plain and 
again clasp hands, renew the old ties, sing the old songs, and march with 
steady footsteps in grand review. 

It is true that many who touched elbow last year have passed beyond 
the silent river, yet, as in the days of war, when our ranks were thinned 
by disease or torn by shot and shell and the vacant places were filled by 
the reserve or the recruits called again and again, so now we meet with 
solid front, thickened lines »aiid? firm purpose, having drawn from the 
ranks of the old grand army thousands to fill the places of those mustered 

out. ^ ', . 

We meet in a State that was liot one of the stars on the flag we fought 
for from '61 to '65, in a city that was then only a station, on the long line 
of march towards the setting sun. But the star is now gleaming on the 
flag, and the city by its wondrous growth, its open-hearted hospitality, 
and its queenly beauty has become of world-wide renown, and the citi- 
zens of the whgle State warmly welcome the Grand Army and greet 
them not only as the guests of the princely city, but the Centennial State 
joins gladly in the joyful acclaim. 

The land where our weary feet have halted in the march to the final 
roll call was almost a wilderness when the war .began and when it ceased. 
Its mineral wealth was yet untouched. Its plains were untilled. Its 
quarries were unopened. Its fountains of eternal youth unfrequented' 
save by the wild savage. Its mountain peaks unexplored. Its sparkling, 
foaming mountain streams, rushing down through grand canons to the 
wide plains, were as in the days when the adventurous white man had 
not turned his wandering footsteps hither. 

ToTday magic cities have arisen. Untold mineral wealth has been 
taken from the rock-ribbed mountains, long lines of steel cross the foaming 
torrent, pierce the grand cliffs, climb dizzy heights, and carry the world's 
commerce from the East and the West, and it is a happy thought that this 
progress, this onward movement of the car of fortune, this red flame 
of the torch of liberty, the glory of civilization, the triumph of educa- 
tion, the wonders of the exposition, would not have been possible had it 
not been for the victories of the Grand Army of the Republic. We who 
have come from the East to the wild, free West, greet our comrades from 
the Atlantic shores and take them to our hearts and homes in Eratemity, 
Charity and Loyalty, and thank God that we are all united in one com- 
mon country and under one star-decked flag. 

When I assumed the duties of my office I determined that I would 
show that I appreciated the high honor by devoting all my time and all 
the energy and ability in me towards building up our order. 





With the cordial approval of the Council of Administration to whose 
generous action and constant support I am greatly indebted, I at once 
commenced visiting the several departments. I am happy to state that I 
have visited all, both permanent and provisional, that were in existence 
June 23rd, 1882, except Florida. In the public and private meetings I 
have attended I have met face to face more than half of the membership 
of the order. I have been cordially xeceived everywhere, and am earnest 
in the belief that the meetings held have greatly benefitted the order. 1 
am fully convinced that for several years to come it will be necessary for 
the commander-in-chief to visit all the departments. Ever since the 
commencement of this work by Comrade Wagner, and its continuation 
by Comrade Merrill, it has been and will hereafter be expected and de- 
manded of any comrade assuming the duties of the office. I have not 
been able to respond to one-third of the urgent calls made upon me. My 
successor will have a larger field than I have covered, and will have to at 
once go into tlie work. I am satisfied that the meetings held in connec- 
tion with the receptions of the commander-in-chief, should be public. 
He is in no sense an inspecting or mustering officer, and is in the field 
simply as a missionary to arouse enthusiasm, explain the objects of the 
order, incite emulation and enlist the sympathy of all in the good work. 
We have one million men who wore the blue to recruit into our order, 
and tliis work must be speedily done or the opportunity will be forever 
lost. With the safeguards attached to the entrance of a recruit into oiu- 
ranks, if properly enforced, there is no danger of getting improper ma- 
terial. Great care should be exercised by ttie investigating committees, 
and all recruiting officers should be cautious in their zealous efforts to 
swell our ranks. 

I have visited the following permanent departments : Maine, New 
Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New 
York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Potomac, Vir- 
ginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, 
Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri. Kentucky, Nebraska, Dakota, Kansas, Col- 
orado, California, Oregon. 

I have visited the provisional departments of Utah and Washington, 
and also, in the course of my journey. New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, 
Nevada, Idaho, and Montana, in all, thirty-seven States and Territories, 
leaving only twelve, including Alaska, unvisited. 

I have visited the departments named below, more than once : Con- 
necticut, Potomac, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Indiana, 
Colorado, Missouri; have attended nine department encampments and 
two semi-annual encampments, and the organization of one permanent 
department; have delivered at reunions, camp fires, banquets, receptions, 
annual and semi-annual encampments, 143 addresses ; have visited 156 
posts ; have traveled 40,403 miles ; have been absent from home over 265 
days. When at home I daily devoted many hours to the duties of the 
office. I have written over one thousand letters and can truly say that 
cheerfully and gladly I have given one year of my life to the work. 

Kansas has come nobly to the front again this year, and is again the 



banner Department. The gain up to March 31st is 4241 per cent., 6,798 
members and 127 posts. Miesouri comes next with a gain of 354 per 
cent., 57 posts and 2,105 members. This in a former slave State and one 
desolated by the ravages of war, is surprising and is due to the energy, 
zeal and devotion of a large number of enterprising workers : Iowa, 229 per 
cent., 3,038 members and 78 posts ; Michigan, 180 per cent., 67 posts and 
3,460 members; Wisconsin, 1851 per cent., 46 posts, 1,681 members; In- 
diana, 130 per cent., 4,171 members and 106 posts ; Colorado, 273 per cent., 
1.198 members, with New Mexico and Dakota separated from them; 
Illinois, 91 per cent., 3,357 members and 69 posts ; Vermont, 90i per cent., 
847 members and 18 posts ; Ohio, 791 per cent., 6,849 members and 94 posts ; 
New York, 54 per cent., 7,260 members and 88 posts; Pennsylvania, 23i 
per cent., 4,934 members and 80 posts; Nebraska, 65i per cent., 1,750 
members and 52 posts ; Minnesota, 82i per cent, gain ; Maine, 461 per 
cent., 1,434 members and 12 posts; Massachusetts, 17i percent., 1,871 
members and 9 posts. These gains are up to and including March 31st, 
1883. All Departments show a gain, and in the supplemental report 
showing the increase during June quarter you will note the grandest in- 
crease in the history of the Order, Illinois alone gaining in June quarter 
103 Posts and 3,703 members. This work must not cease, it must and 
will go on with unabated vigor and increasing enthusiasm until all 
who wore the blue who are worthy to become members are enrolled. Up 
to and including March 31st we gained 971 posts and 55,766 members. 
Per cent of gain, 60i. 

I have taken from the reports on file and not yet tabulated, a state- 
ment which is almost correct, of the gain during the June quarter. If I 
have figured it correctly the gain is 572 posts and 33,705 members, with 
New Jersey to hear from; making a total gain of 1,566 posts and 89,705 
members during this administration. 

During the year we have organized the following permanent Depart- 
ments : West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon Dakota, Arkansas and 
Washington and IVew Mexico. This leaves as provisional Departments 
Tennessee, the Gulf and Florida. The prospects are very good in Ten- 
nessee : they have now a sufficient number to organize. The Gulf De- 
partment have posts at New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Galveston, and 
Sherman, Texas. The post at Honolulu is in fine condition and bids 
fair to include every veteran on the Island. Buford post, Montana, will 
at an early date be reinforced by a large post at Butte City. Comrades 
We have truly '^occupied the land." 

UTAH. 

In company with the Surgeon General I visited the Provisional De- 
partment of Utah, on April 21st and 22nd. We were cordially received 
by as gallant a band of comrades as ever wore our badge. The Posts at 
Ot^den and Salt Lake are lively and enthusiastic. I have added Idaho 
and Montana to the department which gives them sufficient Posts to form 
a permanent department. The organization in Utah have had many 



• 



difficulties to contend with. They are upholding the banner of the grand 
army in what is practically a foreign and hostile community. They are in 
the front of an enemy, treacherous and defiant, and who are trampling 
daily under foot th^i laws of the land with perfect impunity. The Grand 
Army in Utah are the natural protectors of the glory and honor of the 
flag. They here in the presence of a crime as hideous as treason and as 
damnable as slavery, grandly illustrate the shining glories of our Order. 
They witness this treasonable organization extending into Idaho, Nevada, 
Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico and Colorado, and grasping with greedy 
hands the balance of power in the very center of the Continent. They 
are entitled to our sympathy and solid support. It is right we shDuld 
send greeting to them for the evil tliey are massed in solid lines against, 
is one that will cause the next great struggle for republican government 
unless it is speedily checked. The question there is not in any sense poli- 
tical; all true men drop party lines there and are simply Anti-Mormon. 
There Jews are Gentiles by name and all stand in solid column though 
vastly outnumbered by the wicked host. This question is a moral one and 
we have a right to add our testimony in favor of honor and purity. The 
slums of Europe with matted hair, blood-shot eyes, unholy thoughts and 
beastly, idiotic ignorance and fanaticism impelling them, are bemg 
massed behind the solid walls of the gigantic mountains; the flag is hated, 
the laws which we willingly obey and the" authority of the nation we 
saved are spumed and spit upon. The schocl taxes paid by our comrades 
and those in league with them are used in sustaining Mormon schools, 
and in every way the spirit of disloyalty and hate is exhibited. We crushed 
slavery and purified the flag, we made one country and one flag a living 
reality, and it is our duty to say to the polygamous wretches who have 
erected a structure as unholy and damning as slavery, that the men who 
wore the blue demand that these wicked, unholy efforts to establish on our 
soil the superstition, crime and hideou&ness of the dark ages must cease 
before we are mustered out. 

Let us demand through a strong committee that a band of earnest, 
true men who know and have faced the evil and sin day and night, shall 
be^designatfd to ccdily the laws heretofore jafsedlhrou^hthedictates of 
the leaders of this unholy Church. That it shall be written and declared 
that no Mormon shall vote or hold any office whatever. That all holding 
Government offices shall be removed, that this commission shall ask Con- 
gress to approve the codification of the laws, and that all officers of every 
grade shall be appointed by the Governor and coufiimed by the Council-, 
and that the emigration of recruits to build up this damning crime shall 
be stopped at once and forever. 

GBAND ABMY HOMES. 

1 am delighted at the progress made in the work of establishing sol- 
diers' homes under the auspices of the Grand Army. Many of the De- 
partments are doing wonderful work in this direction and all of them 
should at oni^e take active steps towards providing a home for the poor 



members of our Order. I had the pleasure of visiting the home estab- 
lished by the Department of Massachusetts at Chelsea. My eyes grow 
dim wh^n I think of that visit. That alone would have paid me for all 
my labors in behalf of the Grand Army. 

It is the grandest monument of the splendid Department which s<' 
nobly represents the principles of our Order. It is a home presided ovei 
by a veteran and a veteran's "^ife. The war-worn veterans' only fear ib 
that they cannot be grateful enough for it. 

The national homes are or will be inadequate soon. We want our 
comrades near us so that we cau visit and cheer them and learn them 
that they are precious to the comrades of the Grand Army, and besides- 
they can be used for memorial halls in which to preserve our records. 1 
also passed by the site of the Home to be provided by the Department of 
California. It will soon be ready and is located in a beautiful valle.^ 
close by the mountain. Almost perpetual summer reigns there and ii 
will be a delightful spot for the weary veterans to pass away the remnani 
of their lives. 

I have heard many complaints in regard to the treatment of the in- 
mates of the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, Ohio, and would recommend 
that a committee be appointed to investigate the statements made. 

MIJJKOBIAL HAJjLS. 

The question of what will become of the records and history of the 
Grand Army after the final muster-out, has taken strong hold upon m> 
heart. 

I believe our record in peace will eclipse our glories in the war. 

If the records of all the Departments and National Encampments 
are gathered up and forever preserved it will add greatly to the materia] 
for the future historian to write the true history of the war. I believe 
that when the necessity ceases for the use of the national homes that 
they can be donated for this purpose, and in the Departments where the> 
do not exist permanent fire-proof memorial halls should be erected where 
the records of the Grand Army can be filed and preserved. 

We have now all tne records and history of service of two million six 
hundred thousand men, their tattered battle flags, carried proudly iii 
all the conflicts of the war. We can have garnered our baimers, bla- 
zoned with fraternity, charity and loyalty, and thus show by the preser- 
vation of the story of the Grand Army in peace what will be the proudest 
monument of the Union soldier, and one that will perpetuate the mem- 
ory of our Order longer than any organization of the past. 

THE WOBK OF WOMEN. 

The organization of Women's Belief Corps, Ladies' Loyal League 
and auxiliary societies have kept even pace with the rapid growth of the 
Grand Army. In every Department the noble women have banded te>- 
gether in one form or another to assist us in caring for our sick and det<- 
titute comrades and those dependent on them. Many of the members 



helped, suffered and sacrificed dui-ing the war, and many have grown up 
since and here find an enlarged field tor the development of their charita- 
ble hearts. They have accomplished great and lasting good. I am a firm 
believer in the work of women. I am glad that these societies do not 
confine their membership to tlie wives and daughters of soldiers, but ad- 
mit all who are worthy to engage in the work. 

The love of woman for the soldier was the crowning glory of the war 
for the Union. Since the war their afi:ection for and appreciation of the 
men who wore the blue has not wavered or been extinguished by time. 

Their watches by «day and vigils by night during the dark days of the 
war, their work in the hospital, on the battle field, in the Sanitary and 
Christian Commission field of duty form the brightest page in the history 
of the war. 

I have called the representatives of all these societies together to es- 
tablish a national organization and to encourage the spread, growth and 
scope of their work. I am satisfied that no Post is thoroughly equipped 
and armed in behalf of our noble Order unless they have working hand 
in hand with them a band of the noble women of the land. 

I desire to express my grateful thanks for active aid and earnest work 
in behalf of these societies to Mrs. Kate B. Sherwood, Toledo, Ohio ; Mrs. 
E. T. Charles, Washington, D. C; Mrs. A. M. Sawyer, Portland, Maine ; 
Mrs. Hogg, Camden, I*^ew .Jersey; Mrs. E. Florence Barker, Maiden, 
Mass.; Mrs. E. K. Stimson, Denver, Col.; Mrs. C. T. Clark, Columbus, 
Ohio ; Mrs. C. L. Young, Toledo, Ohio, and a host of others who have 
been pioneers in the effort to bring to the assistance of the Grand Army 
the helpful hand of woman. 

MEMORIAL DAY 

Was observed beautifully and grandly everywhere in the land. More en- 
thusiasm and interest was manifested than ever before. Its interesting 
featxire was the almost universal participation of the children. 

The most interesting and significant ceremonies were at Honolulu, 
:*andwich Islands, and New Orleans. At these points the floral tributes 
were Hie most beautiful and artistic imaginable. 

The churches of all denominations generally held Memorial Services 
on May 27 th. 

The public schools, colleges and academies were closed and business 
was suspended. In some large cities the superintendents of schools di- 
rected the children to gather flowers. I am glad that the children know 
that this day will soon be their's, and that all the proud host that wore 
the blue will soon be mustered out and the work will fall into their will- 
ing hands. 

I believe that Memorial Day will always be perpetuated and that 
each returning year, while time shall endure, those who come after us 
will gladly join in the observance of this solemn and sacred duty. 



PENSIONS. 

The subject of pensions and the work of the pension committee will 
be stated at length in the report of the Surgeon General. 

The efforts of Comrades Merrill and Ames secured the passage of the 
$40 bill in an amended form. They are entitled to the thanks of the 
Encampment for their earnest and efficient work. 

I am in favor of abolishing the rank system in the Pension Laws. I 
believe that all survivors of the war, whether officer or enlisted man, 
should receive the same amovmt for the same disability or wound. 

Congress has been liberal in the amount appropriated and the laws 
passed for our benefit. Great clamor has been raised in regard to frauds 
in the pension system. The charges made are very iinjust. Only twen- 
ty-six per cent, of the number enlisted have applied. The fraudulent 
claims allowed amount to only one-tenth of one per cent. Many 
thousands who are entitled have failed to secure the allowance of their 
claims because they have been unable to procure the evidence. The 
changes in twenty years have caused witnesses to disappear, memory to 
become imperfect, so that there are to-day thousands who should be on 
the roll where there is one fraudulent name. 

The money disbursed to pensioners is an actual blessing to the coun- 
try. It goes into the channels of trade. It makes money easy, and in 
my judgment the amount scattered throughout the country by the action 
of the arrears of pensions bill was an actual benefit and prevented a 
financial crash. The men who lost limbs or were torn with bullet and 
shell or suffer from disease, can never be repaid, and the cowardly skulkers 
who are making the assault upon the pension roll merit the condemna- 
tion of all true citizens. I am in favor of pensioning every deserving 
soldier and striking from the roll every fraudulent name, and appeal to 
the Grand Army to aid all who should be on the rolls and to report 
through the proper channels all those on the roll whom they know are 
not entitled to be there. The question in regard to pensioning prisoners 
of war should be carefully investigated by the pension committees, and 
of the many bills pending some just measure should be selected and en- 
dorsed at the next session of Congress. 

SONS OF VETERANS. 

The two branches of Sons of Veterans have made progress. In ac- 
cordance with the resolution of the last National Encampment, I have 
encouraged these societies. I have not encouraged the officers and mem 
bers of either branch in their warfare with each other. I have endeavor- 
ed to restore harmony, and have earnestly desired that they should act 
like the sons of veterans. I believe that the difficulty between these 
organizations has been fomented and fanned largely by members of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. Many of our noblest members have given 
time and money and worked hard to establish one or the other branch of 
this organization. They should harmonize at once. If their proper offi- 
cers do not appear here and coalesce, this Encampment should recognize 
one branch or the other. 



10 

* 

The reckless way that one portion of this organization have scattered 
commissions throughout the country causes me to fear that the ranks of 
those who served as enlisted men will be horribly decimated. Generals 
and Lieutenant-Generals by Brevet have been created by the score. 

The Sons of Veterans must take up our work where we lay it down. 
It will be their duty to perpetuate Memorial Day and keep our memory 
alive. I appeal to them to bring to all their counsels a spirit of charity, 
and do trust and hope that they will consolidate and imite under one 
head, and they will then most certainly have the aid, help and sympathy 
of the entire Grand Army. 

BETIBEMENT OF ENLISTED MEN IN BEGULAE ABMY. 

I have had referred to me by Comrade Coady, of Omaha, and Mr. 
Schindler, of Fort Leavenworth, papers in reference to the retirement of 
enlisted men after certain term of service in the ranks of the regular arm\ . 

I believe their claim just. I learn that the law asked is endorsed by 
many leading officers in the regular army. That such a system is in 
vogue in England, and I refer the papers to the committee on the address, 
with the hope that they will investigate the matter and gratify our com- 
rades, many of whom have served nearly forty years, by endorsing the bill 
proposed. 

POLITICS IN THE QBAND ABMY. 

Ko case of the violation of the Rules and Regulations of our order in 
reference to politics has come before me during my term of office. The 
case brought before the Encampment at Baltimore has been settled har- 
moniously by the action of the Department of Indiana. 

The early builders of our organization wisely fores^aw the insidious 
influence of partisanship. The grand comrades who .have preceded me 
in command, each referred in strong, vigorous terms to the fact that the 
order, if it would be lasting, must be non-partisan . 

No principle is more firmly established. We have in our ranks men 
of all parties and creeds. Honorable service in the war for the Union is 
the only test, and we care not for the political faith of any member of 
our noble order. Faithful service in the war for the Union gives an old 
soldier the right to believe, act and vote as he deems best. 

We stand in line to-day as we did when we marched to the front, 
burning with loyalty, breaking asunder the tits of party and meeting on 
one common platform— waving aloft a torn and discolored honorable dis- 
charge, and exemplifying fraternity, charity and loyalty. 

I have heard the doctrine advocated that the sentence in our instal- 
lation service, "That we should standby the soldier though the whole 
world assail him," means that we should do so if our comrade is a candi- 
date for a political office. 

The Grand Army fetters the conscience of no member. It gives the 
largest liberty to all. It stands aloof from the strife and clash of parties. 
"It will stand by the comrade though the world assail him" in sickness. 



11 



in distiess, when the old wounds reopen, when the wife and children are 
destitute. It will take old veterans from the alms-house. It will remove 
their dust and bones from a pauper's grave and bury them in holy ground. 
It will procure employment. It will lighten up the desolate home with 
the glowing illustration of charity, but in all political and religious affairs 
we will hold our independence of thought, and our conscience as some- 
thing we will not surrender to any order in the land. 



STATUTE 1754. 

Statute 1754. Persons honorably discharged from the military or 
naval service by reason of disability resulting from wounds or sickness 
incurred in the line of duty, shall be preferred for appointments to civil 
oflaces, provided they are found to possess the business capacity neces- 
sary for the proper discharge of the duties of such offices. 

Statute 1755. In grateful recognition of the services, sacrifices and 
sufferings of her sons honorably discharged from the military or naval 
service of the country, by reason of wounds, disease or expiration of terms 
of enlistment, it is respectfully recommended to bankers, merchants, 
mechanics, farmers and persons engaged in industrial pursuits to give 
them the preference for appointments to remunerative situations and 
employments. 

I have embodied in this address, statutes 1754 and 1755. I am pained 
to report that they are gi'ossly and openly violated, that seldom is any 
inquiry made into the matter. Ttiousands of old crippled veterans, in 
every way competent are pushed aside and those who never aided the 
nation in the hours of trial preferred. 

I take it that we who never asked the passage of this law, and with- 
out whose services the statutes would have been a nullity, have a right to 
demand the rigid enforcement of statute 1754. We have a right to know 
the standing of each department of the Government upon this question 
and hold to a strict account every gi-oss and open violator of this charter- 
ed right given by the nation to the crippled and diseased Union soldier. 
I regret to say that many of our comrades holding positions, whose 
proper administration demand a lauge force, employ very few of our com- 
rades and in some cases have turned them out to make places for civil- 
ians. Of course I understand- that this has been done upon the request 
of some politician, who desired to reward some one for political work, 
but if our comrades in such positions would firmly refuse to submit to 
such dictation aid plant themselves firmly on this law of the laud, they 
could hold the fort and no one would dare molest them. I urge the ap- 
pointment again of a strong committee backed by stirring resolutions of 
this body to take vigorou'? and decisive action upon this question at 
once. We are in favor of the absolute reign of thq law and will demand 
an earnest adherence to all the laws of the land, as well as this recogni- 
tion of our comrades services. 



12 

NATIONAL TRIBUNE. 

At the outset of my administration the National Tribune, published a 
stirring editorial appealing to veterans outside of our organization, to take 
steps to organize Posts. The response came during the year from every 
section, and up to date they have referred to National Headquarters 
applications for 170 Posts. Nearly all of these have been organized and 
are in good working order. This magnificent result calls for the hearty 
appreciation of every comrade. 

I desire here and now to return heartfelt thanks to the publisher of 
this splendid paper, George E. Lemon, for his earnest unselfish services 
given without one dollar of expense to the Order. The generous support 
and warm appreciation shown towards me personally, have greatly 
cheered and encouraged me, and I would be ungrateful if I did not place 
on record my genuine gratitude. 

There should be no jealousy between the many papers devoted to 
Grand Army work. The only rivalry should be in zealous emulation to 
benefit the Order. The Order is strong enough to support each and all 
and I wish them God speed in Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty. 

FINANCES. 

I allude specially to the management of our financial affairs by the 
Quartermaster General. From his admirable report 1 find that the total 
receipts of the year from all sources were: 

Total Keceipts $56,771.80 

Total Expenditures 48,439.02 

Balance on hand, Cash 8,332.78 

Investment U. S. Bonds 5,000.00 

Total Assets $23,332.78 

BADGES. 

I deemed it advisable to continue to have the badges manufactured 
by Comrade Davison. He reduced the cost ten cents on each badge and 
w^e made a reduction of the same amount to the Departments. We now 
pay forty cents for each badge. No one offered to make them for less 
than thirty-five cents, and the delay involved in changing would have 
been disastrous to our Order. All orders have been promptly filled, ex- 
cept when the demand was so great that they could not be turned out fast 
enough. We sold up to June 30th, 1883, 75,863 badges. The sale from 
June 30th to close of my term will make the number issued during the 
year fully 80,000. 

I am of the opinion th^it we should wear our badges constantly. I 
traveled in August from Omaha to Portland, Maine, and only saw one 
Grand Army badge. If the practice above stated had been the custom I 
would have met hundreds of my comrades, and the journey would have 
been delightful instead of exceedingly lonely. 



13 

SENIOB VICE-COMMANBEB-IN-CHIEF 

W. E. W. Ross has taken an active interest in the organization of 
Sons of Veterans. 

I. S. BANGS, JUmOE VICE-COMMANBEB-IN-CHIEF. 

Comrade Bangs has been of great service during the past year. He 
has w^orked incessantly. He accompanied me throughout New England 
in August last. He has attended every Reunion, Semi-Annual and 
Annual Encampment in his District, except one; visited Philadelphia 
Grand Army day, and, in short, has been an able, zealous and efficient 
officer. His gentlemanly deportment, his enthusiasm, his executive abil- 
ity, his warm heart and countless charitable deeds have endeared him not 
only to myself but all whom he has met. I refer you to his report called 
for by me for the details of his splendid work. 

SUBGEON-GENEBAL 

Azel Ames, Jr., has represented the Order grandly on the pension 
committee. Nearly all letters coming to National Headquarters in ref- 
erence to pension cases have been referred to him and acted on promptly. 
The idea occurred to me in the outset of my administration that the 
Surgeon-General should represent the Grand Army in pension matters, 
and he was accordingly given that duty. His great knowledge of the 
pension laws and work, his high standing in his profession, his wonder- 
ful influence in both houses of congress and with the officers of the gov- 
ernment, render his services of such value to the Order that they should 
not be lightly dispensed with. 

The Pacific Departments having never been visited by the Com- 
mander-in-Chief, I deemed it best to detail one of the elective officers of 
the Order from the east to accompany me. I selected Comrade Ames 
and was delighted with my choice. He won the love and admiration of 
all the comrades on the golden slope, and contributed, by his eloquence 
and genial social qualities, largely to the success of the trip. 

CHAPLAIN-IN-CHIEF 

I. S. Foster has responded cheerfully to all calls made upon him, and 
has voluntarily rendered great service in the Department of New York. 
His wonderful eloquence and stirring appeals have been of great benefit 
to the Order. 

ABJUTANT-GENEBAL 

F. E. Brown has performed the duties of his office greatly to the sat- 
isfaction of myself and the officers and members of the Order. He has 
given almost his entire time to the duties of the office, and has responded 
to all the communications addressed to National Headquarters. 

In my judgment he is entitled to the thanks of the Encampment for 



14 

his splendid services. His report will show in detail the work performed 
during the year. 

ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL 

Bradford P. Cook has performed a large amount of work in the office ; 
has brought to the duties assigned him the large experience gained in the 
long service and grand work performed by him for years ; has traveled 
more miles, devoted more time and organized more Posts than any mem- 
ber of the Order during my administration. I am g ad to be able to ren- 
der this tribute to my comrade and friend, whose zeal is exceeded by no 
member of the Order. 

QUABTEBMASTER-GENERAL 

John Taylor has more than demonstrated the wisdom of his appoint- 
ment by strict attention to his duties, admirable business talent, couitesy 
to al', and continued earnest work, that have made him the main stay of 
my administration. By order of the Council of Administration he has 
had entire charge of the issue of supplies and disbursement of funds, 
and his admirable report and the promptness in sending supplies, will 
convince all of the wisdom of the council and his devotion to the welfare 
of the Order. 

No more faithful, competent comrade ever served the Grand Army 
in any capacity and it would be wise to retain him in the position. 

INSPECTOR GENERAL. 

Comrade J. W. Burst, has manifested wonderful zeal. He has in the 
District assigned to him been very active, attended the Department En- 
campments of Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa, many reunions and camp 
fires, and has by his knowledge and experience contributed greatly to 
the success of the year. As a member of the committee on transportation, 
he was largely instrumental in securing lr>w rates, and in short 
has been an exceedingly valuable officer. I refer yoix to his valuable re- 
port for the details of the work. 

JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL, 

James R. Camahan has been a very valuable officer. All cases de- 
manding a decision have been referred to him and his opinions have all 
been approved. He has compiled the opinions of the Judge Advocate 
Generals up to and including his own, and has presented for your con- 
sideration a work that will be of inestimable value to the Order. 

As Department Commander of Indiana he has performed great labor 
and been instrumental in making great gains. He accompanied me to 
nine meetings in Indiana, and I had the pleasure of meeting him at 
their annual encampment. 

Comrade S. B. Jones Senior Aid de Camp and Chairman of Com- 



15 

niittee on trancportation, has been very active and zealous in the work. 
He issued and sent gratuitously to all the Posts throughout the country 
fifty thousand Grand Army Song Books. He accompanied me in my 
visits to the Departments of Missouri, one meeting in Ohio, West Vir- 
ginia, Potomac, Maryland, Delaware and Colorado; he has taken a very 
active interest in securing low rates and in short he has been exceedingly 
active and enterprising and I am greatly indebted to him. 

I am greatly indebted to J. W. Morse, General Passenger Agent, Union 
Pacific Railway, for many \uiusual and generous favors; and have also to 
thank L. M. Bennett, General Superintendent Pullman Pacific Car Com- 
pany for many courtesies; also Thomas L. Kimball, Assistant General 
Manager U. P., for taking myself and family to Denver in his private car. 

The year to me has been one of unceasing enjoyment. I can never 
forget the warm greetings and heart welcome given me fiom Maine to 
Washington Territory. There may be pecularities and customs that give 
a distinctive maik to the people of different sections of our vast nation, 
but the Grand Army are the same ever j'where. Their fraternity as warm 
and glowing. Their charity as boundless and their loyalty unwavering 
and firm as in the olden days. Our love passes that of brothers; Ah, it was 
welded in the fire of battle, in the gloom of prison, in the agony of the 
hospital " in days of battle and days of rest." Twenty years have whiten- 
ed the hair, has added the marks of increasing years, but it has not 
obliterated our joy in meeting and greeting each other, in renewing the 
old ties, or the pleasure of recalling the memory of days long ago, or the 
sadness when we bring back to our thoughts the comrades who are 
buried along the line of march from 1861 to 1883. I shall never forget 
the year almost gone, it will ever be my most precious recollection. The 
way was long, the march toilsome, but it was cheered and brightened by 
countless tokens of love, sweet courtesies and generous appreciation, that 
made it a march in the vale of Paradise. I have not even a bitter thought 
to cast a shadow on the past. I bear " malice towards none," I have a 
luart warm wiih fraternity for all, and an ardent desire for the happiness, 
comfort and prosperity of every member of the Grand Army. I only ask 
that I may be remembered as having done all that I could for the Order 
I love next to the treasures of home. I have not longed for this moment 
to come. I abandon this enlarged field of duty with regret; I shall ever 
be true to the Grand Army, and do all in my power to build it up until 
it includes every man who wore the blue. 

I again thank every comrade, the loving women, the loyal men the 
grand host all along the line of march who have cheered me, the hundreds 
whom I never met face to face, who have written me glowing words of 
encouragement. 



SUEGEOIT GEITEEAL'S REPORT. 



Seventeenth Annual Encampment- 

IDH33SrVEK,, COLiOR,.A.IDO, 

JULY 23TH. 1883, 



PoA/l Van Der Voort, Commander in Chief G. A. B. 

Comrade: — In conformity with established usage 1 have the honor t' ■ 
submit the following as the Report of the Surgeon General for the pas^; 
year: 

So indefinite and unrecognized had become the duties and existenct- 
of the Medical Staff of the Grand Army that at the last Encampment 
with the idea, probably, of substituting a serviceable officer for cm 
without a province, a proposition was made to abolish the Medical Stafi 
and in its place to create a staff of Historians. 

In accepting the position with which the Encampment honored m( 
at Baltimore, I entertained the hope that although the formal require 
ments which pertained thereto, in connection with the detailed repoi-ts 
of subordinate officers, had ceased with the abolition of those reports 
there might still be found a field of usefulness in which not only the 
Surgeon General, but the Medical Directors of Departments and Sur- 
geons of Posts might render valuable services to the organization and its 
comrades. 

The lack of proper organization, esprit cle corps, and sense of respon- 
sibility on the part of the Medical Officers had long been conspiciious 
really from the absence of any official demand upon them and not fi'on 
any want of readiness, to perform a duty if assigned. 

So long and well established had this become that Post Surgeons 
quite failed to put themselves in communication with the Medical Direc 
tors of their respective Departments, the Medical Directors not unnatiir- 
ally forgot to communicate with the Surgeon General, and he in tun 
neglected to report to the Encampment. 

To re-establish, at least, the proper official relations between the offi- 
cers of the Medical Staff, to the end that that efficiency for any worlv 
might exist, which good organization alone can give, seemed to me on as 
suming office, and still seems a first desideratum, nor in saying this, do 1 
forget the fact that many of the incumbents oi the position of Post Sur- 
geon are necessarily non-medical men. 

It is too late and now miavailing to regret that the careful oollectioir 
and reporting of data affecting questions of pension, bounty, militar- 
aid, etc., had not been pushed with all vigor by medical men holding th' 
office of Post Surgeon in the early days of our organization. It was the 



It'^itimate and would have become the invahiable work of medical men 
in that office, and no other could have properly performed it. 

To-day the fields of work and the responsibilities which I shall main- 
tain rest upon the Post Surgeon, and his superiors in office, may be under- 
taken by laymen, and only demand proper organization, a recognized re- 
sponsibility and fidelity. 

I regret, however, to say that before due communication between 
myself and the Directors of Departments had been established, and prop- 
er organization and co-operation effected, that a special order of the 
Commander in Chief and the pressing necessity for work affecting legis- 
lation, called for effort of a different kind, and this, with other official 
duties have so engrossed available time that the simple but efficient or- 
ganization of the Medical Staff contemplated is still to be reckoned 
among the things hoped for. 

I have, therefore, as Surgeon General, to report rather upon the lines 
wherein, as I believe, the duties of medical officers will in the future 
probably lie, and the groundwork which the Pension Committee and the 
Surgeon General have aided in preparing rather than upon the status of 
the Department under my charge. 

Tlie order of the Commander in Chief imposed a duty, which 
though rendered especially congenial by ten years of personal experience 
as an Examining Surgeon of the Pension Offiae, and the interest and in- 
formation derived therefrom was much farther reaching and more ex- 
acting than was expected. 

The very successful efforts of the Pension Committee of last year 
had brought about a condition of things that would admit of neither 
apathy nor backward steps, but demanded most earnest and judicious 
consideration and effort. 

Numerous bills were before Congress affecting in some cases, most 
unfavorably, the interest of the soldier, while others promising to be 
productive of the best results required every proper aid for their passage- 
To tlie study of the laws affecting, and the points involved in this 
most importaat matter of pensions, the work of the Surgeon General has 
therefore, for the year, been chiefly addressed. That it has not been 
witliout results is hoped and believed, and both the facts accomplished 
and the probabilities of the near future, most highly important in them- 
selves, warrant me in dealing somewhat in detail with the whole subject 
of Pensions, upon which emphatic action of this Encampment should, 1 
believe, be taken. 

Tlie attitude of the G. A. li. as an organization toward the subject of 
pHusioas up to the year 1881 was most noticeable, and was one of 
l)urely quiescent expectancy that exact justice would be done the soldier 
by a grateful people. 

No pressure of its great and growing influence was ever exercised 
either by vote or the exertions of a committee to effect any legislation 
granting pensions to the soldier, and it was not till the immense accumu- 
lation of work upon the Commissioner of pensions, the long delays widely 
complained of in the settlement of cases and the inadecpiacy of the force 



dealing therewith, became obvious and conspicuous that the National 
Encampment took any step affecting either the enactment or administra- 
tion of pension laws. 

It is significant, too, that its first exercise of its influence was solely 
in aid of the more rapid and equitable adjustment of the claims of those 
entitled to receive, as speedily as possible, the benefits the Nation had 
decreed. It simply asked that the money provided should reach those 
rightfully claiming, in a reasonable time, and to this end only it aided in 
enacting laws providing the means. 

The only step which the G. A. R. has ever taken toward procuring 
legislative aid to its comrades was the action of the National Encamp- 
ment last year in aid of the so-called $40 bill, an amendment of which re- 
ceiving the earnest support of its Committee on Pensions, was enacted 
in March last. 

In this case the exceptional aid lent the passage of a measure directly 
conferring benefit upon its comrades was fully warranted by the univer- 
sal admission that the grave class of injuries which it met were most in- 
adequately rated. 

An outline of the genesis and theory of pensions is essential to a 
proper understanding of a subject so full of intricacies and so entirely 
illustrating the bright saying of the efficient Medical Eeferee of the Pen- 
sion Office, "Tiiat it is impossible to provide for the possible." 

The history of the payment of pensions is coeval with the history of 
the civilized world. 

Our own National experience with pensions naturally began with the 
Revolutionary War, for although pensions were enjoyed by American 
citizens before this for soldier service in the old French and Indian Wars, 
they came from the coffers of His Majesty, the King of England, either 
direct or via the colonial chests of his provinces in North America. 

It was duriag the first session of the Continental Congress that the 
first step toward a soldiers' pension on the part of the young Republic 
was taken, and the theory underlying the payment of pensions received 
its first recognition. 

What is this theoryV 

It is that the soldier having suffered in the line of his duty a disable- 
ment by wounds, injury or disease in defending his nation's interests, is 
entitled to receive so much aid from the country as Vill make up to him 
that part of a common livelihood wliich his disability prevents his earn- 
ing for himself. 

I have said a common livelihood. 

A standard had to be fixed somewhere, and it lias been set down at 
what a man could earn at ordinary manual unskilled labor. And here 
we begin to note the effect of tradition in the construction of the Pen- 
sion establishment of the United States, which will follow us all through, 
and is not only curious often in itself, but curiously marks the growth of 
the nation and also our distinctly Republican existence. 

The Pension system of the United States has been built like the 
sewers of most of our fast growing towns and cities, piece-meal, hence 



bristles vrith singular traditions and glaring inconsistencies, and is full 
of mal-adjustments, injustices and rare follies, — a queer mosaic, laid, 
however, on an honest foundation of creditable intent, sincere desire for 
equity and noble sentiments of humanity. 

Why was the basis of calculation fixed at a man's earnings at man- 
ual labor, and how has tradition affected it? 

The pension idea began with feudal barons of Continental Europe, 
who, hiring out their retainers, who were also their revenue earners, as 
fighting men to neighboring barons or principalities, stipulated that if in 
fighting their men became disabled for earning their living, the lessee 
should be bound to pay a sum equal to the commonest support, that the 
baron might not lose more than his man's services as a revenue earner, 
when returned to him disabled. 

This fact, coupled with the fact that until the late war between the 
states, the mass of soldiers were of the lowest manual-labor class, has 
fixed, first upon the older governments, and later upon ours, the manual 
labor basis of calculation for pensions. 

The dread sufferings of the battle field, the prison pen or the hospi- 
tal, the agonies of wounds and disease, the helplessness that called for 
constant aid or artificial appliances, had at first, or indeed till recent 
years, no recognition. 

The one question was: "What could this used-up fighting machine 
earn by digging before he enlisted, and how much less of it can he earn 
now because of his wounds or disease?" 

It was this view, too, which led to that separate rating of the pen- 
sion for officers which has traditionally fastened itself from the old 
world upon our system, and which remains until this hour, though it is 
to be hoped that another session of Congress wi 1 sweep away. 

An officer, in the foreign idea, was made of better clay than a hire- 
ling serf who fought in the ranks, — and he was. He earned more before 
he went to the wars and he lived on an entirely different plane and scale 
of expense. 

To make good his impaired power to earn such a living as he had 
earned, if disabled, took more money and hence a higher rating for the 
same disabilities. 

This idea, everywhere prevailed in 'Europe, naturally and even prop- 
erly, became part and parcel of our system with the rest of the copying 
at the beginning. 

Properly, I say, because in the Eevolutionary War to a great extent, 
and in the late wars especially, down to the Kebellion, the officers were 
as the rule, the best men of their communities, the civil leaders, or men 
trained to the profession of arms. In the later wars, like the Mexican 
and Florida wars, the officers were largely of the regular army, and the 
men the mustered recruits from all ranks, including many adventurerB 
and camp habitues of European armies. 

The great Civil War broke down utterly this distinction. The col- 
lege professor was often the private with his poorest under-graduate for 
his colonel. The millionaire, Elias Howe, was the corporal in the regi- 



ment he equipped, while a former employe was his commanding officer. 
The "greasy mechanic" came to wear the stars of the brigadier, while the 
"boss of the shop" caTried a musket or sponged a gun. 

A change so radical at once smashes tradition, marks our national 
'■ make-up," and illustrates the Republican itiea. 

I have dwelt at this length on the theory underlying the paying of 
pensions, that I might fix the more clearly the idea of the pension as an 
obligation as it evidently existed in the minds of the early founders of the 
system abroad. For in administration circles the fight still rages— at 
times hotly — whether the pension is a gratuity or an obligation. 

In my own mind nothing is more clear than that it is an obligation; 
its very genesis proves it; the character of the services for which it is paid 
proves it; the manner and method the Government adopts in its determ- 
ining proves it. and throws ridicule on certain of its gratuity rules. 

The genesis of the pension I have shown. The character of the ser- 
vice rendered I have said proves it an obligation. 

The value of the bonds of the United States Government depended 
wholly upon the success of our arms in the late war. No one hesitates a 
moment to declare the bonds an obligation, or to affirm that the holder 
must be paid in full, principal and interest. The men who made the face 
of those bonds good and who are doing their part now to pay them, in the 
heroic struggles that fixed their value lost life, limb or health. 

Nothing equals a life put in pawn. All that a man hath will he give 
for his life. The soldiers of the Republic pawned life and health, the 
capitalists pawned their property to make those promises to pay good. 
The hale, prosperous soldier is to-day doing his part, both to pay the 
obligation in the hands of the bondholder and to care for his disabled 
comiade, and has opened wide the development of the resources of the 
country he saved, as ever in the front he pushed the sap-roller of civiliza- 
tion on the frontier line. 

Is not the bondholder bound to a reciprocity proportionate to the rel- 
ative value of life and propeity? Is not the common country bound to 
by solemn obligation to bothV It was, moreover, a part of the contract 
with the soldier that the pension should be his if disabled, and hence an 
obligation in terms. 

A gratuity moreover is often withdrawn. 

Has a pension ever been withdi'awn as a matter of right on the part 
of the Government, or does anyone think it ever will be. 

Of the Arrears of Pensions Act that now calls for $45,000,000 per 
year and then exhausts but half the surplus revenue of the land much 
has been said; much that has been unkind and unjust. A wiser act of 
simple justice was never enacted, and of no enactment, I think, are two 
such remarkable facts true. 

1st. That both great political parties of the country gave it almost 
their entire vote, and 

2d. That the soldiers of the land, the men to receive its great bene- 
fits, made no organized effort to secure its passage. A fact as conspicu- 
ously creditable as the doubt is great whether genuine respect and sens* 



6 

of justice had more to do than political aspiration in securing the com- 
paratively noiseless, harmonious and rapid action of both great political 
parties in Congress in its enactment. 

I have said that the soldiers were to reap the great and direct benefit; 
while this is true, observing men speedily become aware as the millions 
flowed from the treasury into soldiers' hands all over the land that some- 
thing had started the wheels of Commerce which had so long " hung on 
the centre " just ready to move, and was lubricating them generously. 
The opinion will find record as matter of history that the great cereal 
crops of 1878, '79 and '80, supplemented by the timely disbursements 
under the Arrears of Pensions Act, gave to this country the present 
epoch of financial advance and prosperity to last out, it is hoped, the 
century. 

The Legislator having determined that the pension, whether as gra- 
tuity or obligation, shall be paid, the two composite questions that 
arise are 

1st. On the part of the Government — How shall the Government 
determine who is entitled. How much he is entitled to. How shall the 
money be paid, and how shall all this be done with greatest fairness, 
security and speed. 

2d. On the part of the soldier — How shall I establish my right to 
this provision of the Government, prove that I was or am disabled by the 
service rendered, and show the extent of that disability. 

When it is considered how much evidence the Government demands 
and how entirely that evidence must come from the soldier's own re- 
sources, when we reflect how often ofiicers and comrades knowing to a 
soldier's injury were swept away in the same or later battles; when it is 
remembered that the lone scout or picket has no witness of the shot that 
struck him down, and when we reflect that the pensions paid at the close 
of the war were small, business brisk, and the soldier in better demand 
than now, you will not wonder that many good men and true thought it 
not worth their while to apply for their pensions till the Arrears Act 
made it an object, though they could have obtained them easier then 
than now, when twenty years have swept away men, records and 
memories. 

There are hundreds, too. whose patriotism has delayed their asking 
till their necessity compelled, so that the great rush to receive the ben- 
efits of the Arrears Act is not rightly to be charged to fraud or rapacity. 

The Commissioner of Pensions has recently stated that not over one- 
tenth of one per cent, of the pensions allowed are tainted with fraud. 

The Nation's liberality to its disabled defenders has no parallel, but 
never had National life such defenders, never were such results. 

And 

" The quality of mercy is not strained ; 
It droppeth as the gentle rain from 
Heaven upon the place beneath. 
It is twice blessed : It blesses 
Him that gives and him that tkkes." 



The return that a grateful people can make to their surviving de- 
fenders is fixed by the bounds of the honors they can pay and the freedom 
they may give from future want or v^roe. 

I believe when the Congress of the United States, acting from its 
understanding of the will of the people, makes provision for their dis- 
abled defenders, that it means in spirit what it provides in letter. 

But while both Federal and Rebel archives are open to the Govern- 
ment, and I regret to say, have sometimes been unfairly construed in 
years past to the soldier's detriment, they aie still closed to him. 

Said the noble Commissioner of Pensions to me a short time since: 
'' I was much impressed the other day by the position taken by a gallant 
fellow who came in to learn the standing of his claim. I sent for the 
papers and looked them through and said to him: 'The record doesn't 
show that you were wounded at the battle you name or whether you 
were there or not:' " to which he instantly and forcibly replied: "• ^Vhat 
busines is that of mine. It wasn't my business to keep lecords. I madf 
the record and it was the proper officer's business to put it down." 

"I could but admit,'' said the always honest Commissioner, "that he 
was right in principle." 

Until lately the attitude of the Government has been too much like 
that of the two-voiced orator Puff , with one voice saying: "Come, noble 
defenders of your country, receive the grateful recognition of a grateful 
people"— with the other — "Tret's see you get it." 

When a claimant once brought a demand against the Commonwealth 
of Massachusetts, the proofs of which lay in the State archives, her 
grand old Governor, Andrew, ordered them laid open to him, saying: " If 
the State of Massachusetts owes anyone anything she wishes to pay it 
and will not stoop to cover or conceal the evidence of her indebtedness." 

In like manner, I believe that the Government of the United States 
should be above withholding from the men who saved the country the 
records they so proudly made. 

I trust that this encampment will take such emphatic action upon 
this point as shall lead to removing this blot upon the Nation's consist- 
ency and honor and bar to the soldier's proper establishment of his right. 

I have intimated that the record has sometimes been unfairly used 
against the soldier. 

I can conceive of no greater wrong than that of branding as a de- 
serter a brave and honorable soldier who died in the battle front, and lies 
to-day in the trenches of the unknown dead. Yet as a blasphemy upon 
his Heaven-born devotion and a withering curse upon the loved ones he 
died for, that record stands to-tlay against many a man whose name the 
very gods of Vahalla have inscribed upon their battlements. 

But it is not so often the luitrue record of desertion that is found 
which so far as pension is concerned is not necessarily a bar, as failures 
of record in cases where abundant and incontestable proof of fact is 
available. Hitherto it has been most difficult to secure the amendation 
of the War office record to accord with the fact, however convincing the 
testimony, and to this most important condition of things as affecting us 



s 

all and those to come after us, I call your attention with the hope that 
some vigorous action may be taken thereon by the Encampment. 

I have incidentally referred to the fact that record and proof of de- 
sertion is not necessarily a bar to a pension. As the law and practice 
now stand if a soldier ref^eived a wound or injury in the battles of the 
war, and it is proven, although he may subsequently have deserted, he 
can to-day secure a dishonorable discharge, and claim and receive a pen- 
sion on that wound. Neither under certain conditions is his desertion a 
bar to his widow's claim. 

I believe I have only to point out to you, my comrades, the fact that 
if caught at the time or his desertion in the face of the enemy, deatli by 
sentence of Court Martial would have closed all accounts between him 
and the Government, to show how glaring an inconsistency this is, and 
how great an injustice to the men who, till day dawned at Appomatox, 
stood on the line of battle. 

I know that this Encampment will express itself in unmistakable 
terms on this wrong which has only become prominent of late, and which 
whenever made known excites first incredulity, then amazement and in- 
dignation and disgust. 

I come now to a matter lying at the foundation of our pension 
system and affecting all who are embraced thereby or interested 
therein. 

I have said that the pension system of the United States has been 
built up piece-meal and bristles with rare inconsistencies. I have also 
shown that the basis of a pension is a physical disability received in the 
line of duty. I have called your attention also to the fact that with the 
Army of a Republic like ours, the older distinctions between officers and 
men are inevitably and properly torn down. 

I have only to cite the facts that the several present ratings have all 
been changed one or more times, sometimes up and sometimes down, to 
illustrate the patch-work process by which our pension system has 
grown, or to show that a First Lieutenant gets $17.00 per month for a 
wound of the thigh and a private gets $8.00, while if both lose the leg be- 
low the knee both get $24.00 alike, to prove its inequities. 

The fact that except in the case of soldiers of our oldest wars or for 
veiy long enlistment, no pension has been given for service on??/, makes 
ours a pension system for disability only, and it is the disability itself 
therefore that lies at the foundation of all. 

The social rank recognitions on the officer-and-men-question having 
in our time been broken down, and the distinction of rank having been 
set up ui the payment of pensions only part way, it is hard to imderstand 
why there should be any distinction at all. 

As stated, a private, corporal or sergeant gets $8.00 a month for a con- 
siderable wound, while for the same injury his second lieutenant gets 
$15.00, the first lieutenant, $17.00, the captain, $20.00, the major, $25.00, 
and the higher officers $30.00 per month, in which connection it is inter- 
esting to note that both at the upper and lower ends of the line distinc- 
tions ce-ase. the private, corporal and sergeant being put on the same 



footin?, while the colonel, brigadier, major general and higher general* 
also rate alike. 

Let the private who stands in such a marked distinction in a money 
point of view, with one grade of disability lose a foot, and he and his 
lieutenants and his captain, if similarly wounded, come at once on to 
the same footing and receive each alike $24.00 a month. 

Let him lose his leg at the knee and lieutenant, captain, major, 
colonel, brigadier and general, if also so injured, all join him again on an 
equal level and get $30 a month, and all move on alike to $50 and $72 per 
month, for the loss of both legs, a leg and an arm, both eyes, and for other 
utterly disabling injuries. 

So that with charming inconsistency there is no difference of rank 
recognized between the three lower grades in the army or between the 
five higher grades, and as injuries become severer the distinction vanish- 
es. The question will naturally occur to every sensible man, why should 
it not disappear altogether? 

The disability itself is properly, and should be the only, determiner of 
the degree of pension awarded, and I have only to point you to a very 
few of these ratings as at present existing to show how unequal and un- 
just they are. 

For a comparatively slight wound a private may receive $4, $6, or $8 
per month. For a rupture, which, however slight, is always a serious 
injury, he can get $4 per month. For the loss of two fingers he can get 
$4 per month, while for the loss of his good right eye, he can only get the 
same. For the loss of a few teeth or a severe catarrh, a man may get $4, 
or even $6 per month, while for partial deafness of one ear, which is a 
great bar to employment, he can get but $1 per month. 

I might almost indefinitely multiply the statement of these follies, 
inequalities and injustices of the present pension laws if it were neces- 
sary and time allowed, but I have given enough to show that it is tim« 
action was taken: 

1st. To put all pensions upon a basis of disability only, abolishing 
the few rank distinctions existing, and 

2d. (And most important) to secure without delay an entire revision, 
re-gi-ading and equitable adjustment of the ratings for disabilities, es- 
tablishing some adequate sum as the highest pension payable for the 
severest injuries, and rating all lesser injuries by that, and fixing their 
compensation accordingly. 

It is admitted by all familiar with the details of pensions that thig 
should be done, and the more speedy the better, a's all tinkering of th» 
laws in special cases, while perhaps in so far secm-ing justice to a class, 
only makes the inequity to the rest the greater, and still further compli- 
cates an already complex condition. 

The honorable Commissioner of Pensions, the Pension Committee of 
Congress and the Pension Committee of this Encampment are, I think, 
all agreed that it is desirable that a Commission of competent men 
should be appointed by Congress, at an early day, to take into considera- 
tion and map out the necessary changes, reporting to the next Congresa 



10 

with a bill. I think no matter of gi-eater importance than this is before 
us, and earnestly recommend the passage by this Encampment of resolu- 
tions urging such action on the part of Congress, and instructing the 
Pension Committee to aid its accomplishment. 

A great wrong, as I believe, is now inflicted (Rev. Stats. S 4718) upon 
the heirs (other than widows or children under 16 years of age) of those 
pensioners who die after iheir claims are allowed, but before they have 
received their money, by the law which requires the money, to be covered 
again into the Treasury, and thus be entirely lost to them. 

Furthermore, the provision of law is clearly an error, needing remedy 
that fixes 16 years of age as the limit of pension aid to the daughter of a 
soldier. Common law recognizes this, and common sense which teaches 
that this is the very age at which a young girl becomes the greatest ex- 
pense, and should be, if possible, at school, indicates that the age of 18 is 
as early as ihe provision of law should be made to apply. It is a common 
remark of guardians on receiving the final payment for their wards on 
their reaching 16: " My ward will require more the next two years than 
she has the last four." 

Hardlv less severe and injust is that provision of the law (Sec. 2, Act 
Mar. 3, 1877) which since 1880, fixes the date of her application, instead 
of the date of the soldier's discharge, as the commencement of a pension 
to the widow or other dependent of a soldier who did not set up his claim 
before his death. 

The injustice of the law is too apparent to need comment. A dozen 
causes may have conspired to prevent his making the claim, and though 
the proof of his right to the pension from his discharge is finally estab- 
lished, because he is not here the debt due him must not be paid to his 
legal representatives. 

Common law and the statutes of every state are at variance with such 
a decision and practice, and nothing but the assumption (radicallv wrong 
and widely productive of injustice) that the pension is a gratuity^ and so 
not amenable to laws usually in force, makes such a thing possible. 

I believe the matter deserving of attention from the Encampment. 
My files contain numerous, most touching and logical letters from noble 
women who feel its force, and I believe we owe them our aid in this 
regard. 

I think it well also to call your attention to an attempted act of the 
grossest injustice before the last Congress, being no less than an attempt 
to repeal that provision for the soldier and a home for him, now existing 
in the land laws, and providing that his time of service shall be deducted 
from the term of residence. 

I know not what malevolence and malignity toward the soldier 
prompted so base an effort, luit I believe that having had warning, we 
should stand on guard against so great a wrong. 

I am brought by the question of land to a proposition that has been 
made concerning the Equalization of Bounties. 

It is, that instead of payment being made in money, that it be made 
in land, and it is claimed that against such a plan, the objection that 



11 

seems to widely exist to tlie payment in money would not be urged, and 
it is argued that by this course civilization would advance, the Nation's 
resources be developed, the rest of the public domain be enhanced in 
value, and the soldier giv.en the certainty of a homestead. 

The subject is of importance enough to receive attention. 

It is so plain a proposition to all honorable men that a debt is a debt 
till paid, that I believe all must agree that the present bar upon the bene- 
fits of the Arrears of Pensions Act should be removed, and that the ohli- 
gation of the country to the soldier should not be estopped by any statute 
of limitation. 

Our gratitude to those who have cared for us and sacrificed for us we 
do not feel ends witli a term of years, nor our obligation to recognize 
their claims; neither should the Nation's toward those who kept it 
through fire and blood, disease and death. I believe the Encampment 
owes it to itself to speak with no uncertainty upon this great matter, and 
to use all its influence to remove the limit tliat was fixed upon theravaila- 
bility of the act. 

The prisoners of war who suffered the tortures and living death of 
Andersonville, Belle Isle and the kindred hell-pits .of the south, will 
never appeal to their comrades or the people of the United States for 
proper recognition in vain, and the unfailing sympathy and love of all 
will be ever theirs; but I believe that they and all other classes and con- 
dition of men should be governed and govern themselves by principles, 
policies founded on wisdom . 

I cannot assent, therefore, nor do T think will any thinking man. 
who carefully studies the question, to the wisdom of the proposition to 
pension prisoners of war simply as such. To do so would be to ignoi e 
the only basis on which a pension can safely be founded, viz. the disability. 
to establish the precedent of a pension for sei-vice (for such itwculdbe'. 
and to open wide a door for the future that thoughtful men would wish 
speedily closed. The United States has never given pensions for service 
except for a life practically spent in it or worn out prematurely thereby 
{%. e., for twenty years of constant service in the Navy), or to soldiers 
like those of the Revolution or the war of 1812, and to those only when 
their old age presumes disability. 

I would have the Commissioner of Pensions instruct his examiners, 
indeed such is now the rule,* to make a term of imprisonment in one of 

*Dep.\rtmeist of the Interiok, Pension Office, > 
January 20, 1882. ( 
ORDERED. 74. 

1st. — When it iippears that the soldier was sound at the date of his capture in line 
of duty, and that he was disabled as alleged at the date of his release from Rebel 
prison, the origin of said disability may be presumed to have originated in the serviee 
and in the line of duty, provided said disease was incident to the service, or to such 
imprisonment. 

2d. — When it is shown that a soldier was cai)lured while in the line of duly, and it 
appears that he was afterwards an inmate of a Rebel prison, and has not since been 
heard from, his death shall be presumed to have occurred in the service and line of 
duty, and the day after he was last seen or heard from may be accepted as the date <>f 
death. WM. W. DUDLEY, 

Commissioner. 



12 

the Southern prison pens ground for giving an application for pension for 
disability the benefit of every doubt, and more,— to consider such impris- 
onment as almost proof of the origin of a disability; but beyond this I 
believe it would be error to go. 

The great dangers attending our organization to-day and for the futixr© 
are the dangers attending great power and prosperity. 

The mistakes of a weak and obscure individual or organization do 
little harm, but those of a prominent man or a great order are terrible in 
their effect. More than ever to-day, I believe, do we need calm, dispas- 
sionate, just, unselfish and enlightened consideration and action on any 
subject before us. Moderation needs to be our watchword . 

Inconsiderate demands or liasty action sets back our influence and 
destroys our power. 

The so-called $40 bill, in aid of which the Encampment gave its vote 
last year, is a sample of what want of fair and equitable consideration 
produces. No one could logically defend the bill as it was drawn, and if 
enacted as drawn, it would have been legalized injustice only a little less 
inequitable than were the ratings it aimed at remedying. As amended 
by Senator Blair, of New Hempshire, it was logical, just and sound, 
could be defended anywhere, and should have prevailed. Its very faults 
killed it, and probably in their reactive effect went so far as to kill even 
the really excellent amendments of Blair, and permitted only the less 
satisfactory ones of Senator Piatt. 

So that an attempt at securing a thing indefensible made it impossi- 
ble to obtain as much as ought to have been had. 

I earnestly recommend such action as shall secure such change in 
legislation as will make the loss of an arm or leg below, but so near the 
joint as to make the results practically the same as if amputated through 
the joint, the full equivalent of loss at or above the articulation itself. I 
have seen a score of men who presented this condition, but the Honorable 
Commissioner, who would gladly recognize it if he could, is unable to pay 
them at the higher grade under the phraseology of the law as it now stands. 

It is difficult also to understand why pei sons who were on the pension 
roll at $50 per month at a certain date should be carried to $72, and those 
"Who subsequently arrive at the condition of disability prescribed should 
not receive the same rate. If, as I firmly believe, the disability resulting 
from service should be the only basis of a pension, it is clear to my mind, 
and I think must be to yours, that whenever a definite disability exists and 
is determined to be of service origin, it should receive the i ate propor- 
tionate to that disability, without regard to date, nor be subject to any 
statute of limitation. 

The Grand Army owes it to the Government it protected from foes 
without to guard it from foes within. An honorable comrade is in honor 
bound to denounce fraud, to uncover deceits and unrighteous claims 
wherever existing, and while we demand for ourselves due recognition of 
the semces rendered, we owe it to the Nation and ourselves, to see that 
BO discredit is cast upon honest record and honorable claims by dishon- 
est men among us. 



13 

Our comrade, the honorable Commissioner of Pensions, is doing a 
grand work, and using every means at his command to do justice to the 
soldier and his dependents. Many of the delays in the settlement of 
claims are incident to defects in law and administration of certain offices, 
notably the office of the Surgeon General of the Army,— but comrades 
will do well to remember that the requirements of law must be obeyed 
and that their own neglect is oftenest by far the cause of their disap- 
pointment and failure. 

I am fully pei suaded that a simple but efficient organization of the 
medical service for the ensuing year will give an increased value and 
activity to this department, and I am equally satisfied that a wide and 
engrossing field of work will be found for Post Surgeon and Medical 
Director. 

In aiding the applicant for pensions, bounty, state aid and soldiers' 
home accommodations, etc.; in securing to the widows and children of 
soldiers all needed aid, and especially in helping the children of soldiers 
to education, the learning of trades, and employment under proper con- 
ditions; 

In obtaining employment for the feeble and the dependents of de- 
ceased comrades; 

In securing medical attendance, hospital accommodations and nurs- 
ing for those who need; 

In standing between the soldier and the exactions or wrong treat- 
ment of anf who would abuse, whether money-lender, officer of the law. 
rum-seller or ill adviser, and in acting at all times as the special ally and 
aid of the poor, the affiicted or the wronged. 

To the Post Surgeon, especially if a medical man, the sorrows and 
private distress of the comrade or his family are made known with a con- 
fidence that is reposed in no other, and his opportunities are proportion- 
ately great. 

I believe that with a heart for the work, the medical officer will have 
henceforward, no difficulty in finding work enough to do, and in that 
work a degree of satisfaction and compensation abundantly ample. 

That the medical officers of the G. A. R. will find in the judicious, 
sympathizing and efficient aid of the women of Department and Local 
Womens' Relief Corps a most desirable and valuable co-operation, I fully 
believe. 

I cannot refrain from expressing my appreciation of and thanks for 
the aid rendered by the General Orders of ISTational and Department 
Headquarters and by the National Tribune and other soldiers' papers in 
the procuring of information for comrades, establishing tlieir claims at 
the Pension Office. Ii has mucli facilitated the correspondence of my 
office. 

My cordial thanks are also due to the officers of the Medical Staff 
and to those of the severa,l Department Headquarters for their ever 
prompt and courteous aid and co-operation. 

To the Commander in Chief, wlio has accorded every facility for 
work and made duty a pleasure, lending by his kind and judicious aid a 



14: 

most potent helpfulness, and imbuing with his own spirit of cheerful de- 
votion, my warmest and most earnest thanks are given. 

It has been an unmixed pleasure to contribute in any degree to the 
abounding success of his administration. 

The brief summary of the routine duty given in the preliminary re- 
l)art of the Surgeon General, already published, sufficiently states the 
work of the office. 

Trusting that the importance of the several matters submitted, and 
the necessity for a full understanding of their gravity, and proper action 
lliereon may be sufficient apology for the prolixity of this report, I am. 
In F. C. & L., 

Very respectfully, 

AzEL Ames, Jr., 

Surgeon General, G. A. R. 
Boston. Julv 1. 188;^. 



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